Streets as Open-air Art Exhibitions

Now world-famous Mucha posters

The posters were a good way to bring information to the general public. People could stop and look at the posters on their way to work, gaining spiritual satisfaction.

Language of Flowers (1900) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

The streets became open-air art exhibitions. In 1887, after two years of study at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, Mucha arrived in Paris, where he furthered his training at the Académie Julian and the Académie Colarossi, later working as a freelance illustrator. In 1894, on December 26 – Saint Stephen's Day – Mucha gained visibility. 

The illustrator, who happened to be grading proofs for a friend in Lemercier's print shop, received a commission, replacing a regular artist who had gone on holiday for the year, to produce a poster for Sarah Bernhardt's theatrical show Gismonda, which would debut on January 4, 1895. The poster appeared on the streets of Paris on New Year's Day and was an immediate success.  

Sarah Bernhardt (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Mucha's Gismonda poster was surprisingly different from the posters of artists such as Jules Chéret or Henri Toulouse-Lautrec: it used an elongated format – which was not common –, more restrained and harmonious colors and more fluid and elegant lines.

In this poster, Bernhardt is portrayed as Mélissinde, her heroine role in the play La Princesse Lointaine, written for her by Edmond Rostand and premiered in 1895. 

After the success of that first poster, Mucha worked for Bernhardt as artistic director and designer, creating six more theater posters for her. Gismonda and other theater posters made for Sarah Bernhardt, as well as advertising pieces, made Mucha one of the most  in-demand graphic designers in Paris.

Mucha portrayed her in this role after being asked to design a poster with a dual purpose: to announce a banquet to be held on December 9, 1896 in honor of the leading actress and to publish an article about her in La Plume magazine.

Exhibition Alphonse Mucha: The Legacy of Art Nouveau (2020)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

The poster was such a success that it prompted Mucha's editor F. Champenois to repurpose the design without the text for a collector's edition, as seen here, and also to make a postcard. 

Light accessory inspired by "Princesse Lointaine" by Mucha by Adolphe Armand TruffierCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Adolphe Armand Truffier | (c.1899 to 1937)

Light accessory inspired by 'Princesse Lointaine', by Mucha, made by Adolphe Armand Truffier. 

Patina in bronze gold; malachite, amethyst and lapis lazuli cabochons; mounted on the original, curved panel in pear wood.

Adolphe Armand Truffier | (c.1899 to 1937)

Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli: Légende du Moyen-age (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli: Légende du Moyen-age"

Book by Robert de Flers (1872–1927) with colour lithographs by Mucha, published by H. Piazza & Cie | Paris, 1897

Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli: Légende du Moyen-age (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

The great success of the play La Princesse lointaine led to the publication of a novelised version under the title, Ilsée, Princesse de Tripoli, in 1897.

From the design of the Sarah Bernhardt poster shown here, Mucha created a stylised image of the actress’s head with a diadem of lilies and used it as an emblem on the title page of the book; this iconic image of the actress was later to inspire other designers’ works featuring the actress.

Sarah Bernhardt dining off a chair (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"The Divine Sarah"

The parisian actress, Sarah Bernhardt (1844 - 1923), was the greatest stage personality of her era, hailed as "The Divine Sarah". She was also the single most influential figure in Mucha's life as an artist. 

It was his first poster for her, Gismonda, that made him famous and he matured as an artist through his professional collaboration and friendship with her.

Exhibition Alphonse Mucha: The Legacy of Art Nouveau (2020)Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

In 1895 Bernhardt gave Mucha a six-year contract to produce stage and costume designs as well as posters for their theatre company, Thèâtre de la Renaissance.

Under this contract, he produced six more posters promoting her productions, including those shown here. Muchas consistent design formula heightened the recognisability of Bernhardts image, and thus the posters consolidated her status as a theatre icon of the era, hailed as "The Divine Sarah". 

Gismonda (1894) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"Gismonda" | Colour lithograph, 1894

Set in mediaeval Greece, Gismonda was the first of Victorien Sardou’s (1831–1908) work that Sarah Bernhardt produced, directed and starred in herself.  

Gismonda (1894) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Here, Mucha portrayed her as an exotic Byzantine noblewoman wearing a splendid gown, with an orchid headdress...

... and a palm branch in her hand. The pose was taken from Gismonda’s Palm Sunday procession, the climax of the play.

Théâtre de la Renaissance: design for a theatre billboard (1895) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Founded in 1873, the Théâtre de la Renaissance was a Parisian theatre company based in the boulevard Saint-Martin, which is still active today.

During the 1880s, the theatre went through a series of management problems, but in 1893 Bernhardt bought the lease and ran it as actor-director-producer until 1899.

Sarah Bernhardt dining off a chair (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"Sarah Bernhardt dining off a chair"

Pen and ink on paper, c.1896
Copyright ⓒ Mucha Trust

Head of Sarah Bernhardt: study for Lorenzaccio (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"Head of Sarah Bernhardt: study for Lorenzaccio"

Colour lithograph, 1896
Copyright ⓒ Mucha Trust

Bookplate for Herbert Ingram, the 2nd Baronet of Swineshead Abbey (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

Mucha’s designs for magazine covers were known internationally. For instance, the cover for L’Illustration was reused in Britain as the cover of three issues of English Illustrated Magazine in 1899, which probably prompted the design of a bookplate, shown here.

Bookplate for Herbert Ingram

Monochrome lithograph featuring the cover image of L'Illustration magazine, Christmas 1896/1897, by Mucha

Salon des Cent: Exhibition of the Work of A. Mucha (1897) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"Salon des Cent" (1897)

In the course of designing this exhibition poster, Mucha incorporated various Slavic elements from his homeland (Moravia) into his decorative motifs...

... such as the embroidered folk cap worn by the girl and the daisy crown that evokes the meadows of his homeland. 

 Additionally, the girl holds a pen and a picture displaying a heart in the middle of three intersecting garlands composed of thorns, flowers and fruit, alluding to the fate of Mucha’s homeland.

The West End Review (1898) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"The West End Review" (1898)

Mucha’s appeal reached beyond Paris. He produced designs for English clients, such as the new literary periodical "The West End Review".

Appropriately, the thoughtful-looking woman and the two cherubs are pictured reading and writing.

La Dame aux Camélias (1896) by Alphonse MuchaCentro Cultural Banco do Brasil Rio de Janeiro

"La Dame aux Camélias" (1896)

“La Dame aux Camélias” was originally written as a novel by Alexandre Dumas (1824–1895), and subsequently adapted for the stage in 1852. This poster was prepared for Bernhardt’s new production of the play, which was premièred on September 30, 1896. 

Presenting the tragic heroine Camille as a modern Parisian woman in a chic dress designed by Mucha, the poster not only renewed the old-fashioned image of the play but also influenced contemporary fashion.

Credits: All media
The story featured may in some cases have been created by an independent third party and may not always represent the views of the institutions, listed below, who have supplied the content.
Explore more
Google apps